Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

Organizations have to keep working on their business strategies to ensure that every business opportunity and the market potential are tapped and there is sound growth for the organization. Also it very essential that the organizations focus on their internal systems, process, functions and resources in order to ensure that they have maintain good backing that is essential for the organization to succeed in its strategic initiatives. (Ansari, 2013)

In the case of Mod Meter which is one of the reputed organization which is having demand globally, for its product ranges in the mechanical meters and the current trend digital meters too, has some strategic business plans in place to develop the business. The review of case excerpts depicts the fact that there are some challenges with the organization in terms of succeeding in the strategic objectives, as the organization is not much focused on strengthening its IT department which has a predominant role in the organizational success.

Globally, organizations are being pro towards upgrading their IT systems and developing IT infrastructures that could help them in potentially reducing the process management costs, develop sound systems and practices that could help in process automation, development of system oriented environment, which makes the organizational process more effective and competent. But in the case context of Mod Meters, the scenario is different. The focus of organization on IT department is only as a supplementary system rather than using it as main line medium to achieve their objectives. (Mousavi & M. Habiby BadrAbady, 2008)

Hence in this research paper, the focus is upon understanding the significant measures that Mod Meters have to adapt to ensure that they have successful outcome of their business strategies and to evaluate and understand what the key changes that Mod Meters should be incorporating in strengthening of the IT department in order to ensure better mileage for the organization.

2.0 IT Environment in Mod Meters

Mod Meters being one of the reputed organization and having good demand for its products and systems has been more effective in planning its business operations and future strategies. Also the IT department of the organization is established in full fledge manner and is handled by the organization effectively. But the inputs from the case study also emphasize the fact that the top management of the organization is ignoring the vital role of IT systems in its strategic planning objective. (Gagnon & Jocelyne Dragon)

The key factors that are revealed by the case inputs depict the fact that very limited budget is provided to the IT departments and the department head has to ensure that the existing systems are maintained, and any other new system developments that are required by the organization are also handled within the given budget. This only emphasizes the conditions of the IT departments, as to the kind of importance that is given to key departments of the organization which has significant role in the development of the organization. (Rusu & Mohamed El Mekawy, 2011)

The case inputs describe the fact that much of the organizational systems are being independent and there is absence of any communication between the systems used in various departments due to the compatibility issues. Though there are various legacy systems that are implemented in the organization for inventory, accounts, supply chain etc., the absence of a good enterprise system shall certainly be impacting the overall efficiency of the organization and might also impact the success of strategic objectives that are planned by the organization. Also when every department of the organization is relying upon the IT department to provide hassle free functional systems, deploying of such systems is compounded with some investments and the budgets to maintain. (Gagnon & Jocelyne Dragon)

But in the case of Mod Meters, there are various factors that are going wrong. Rather than looking at IT department as a support center, the management is considering it as a cost center. Globally, organizations are spending much proportion of their budget allocations on IT spends in order to capitalize on the technological trends that could provide them significant support in vision accomplishment. But in the case of Mod Meters, the management is being too conservative on IT spends and are allocating budget of meager 2% on the IT spends when compared to the other departments. (Ansari, 2013)

This is a very implicating issue for the organization, as the role of IT is imminently an integral part of the organizational requirements to succeed in terms of business, and unless the organizations focus on building such effective systems in place, achieving its strategic goals might be a challenging task for the organization. (Mousavi & M. Habiby BadrAbady, 2008)

3.0 Road Map for IT department in Mod Meter

Though the IT department is envisaging challenges from many fronts, the key challenges that could be envisaged are as follows:

The first critical challenge that is encountered by the department is the aging of the existing systems and infrastructure and with the existing systems environment supporting the organization for future initiatives might not be feasible. (Mousavi & M. Habiby BadrAbady, 2008)

It is very essential that the top management and the other functional heads realize the importance of the role of IT systems, and allocate sufficient budget to ensure that agile systems are replaced with robust enterprise solution. Though there is significant costs that are involved in the process, in long run there could be potential mileage for the organization. (Gagnon & Jocelyne Dragon)

The secondary factor that the management should consider is that involving the IT department too along with other departments in the strategic planning meetings, as it is very essential for the stakeholders to understand the capabilities of the existing systems, and what can be achieved with the existing system and the metrics that has to be adapted by the organization in terms of succeeding in accomplishing its corporate objectives. (Ansari, 2013)

4.0 Conclusion

Organizations across the world are depending upon the strategic trends of implementing IT systems in order to equip themselves with robust business process automation, information systems management and increasing the overall process management. Even in the case of Mod Meters, there is a full fledge IT department that caters to the requirements of the organization in smooth functioning of their business. But the inadequate support to the IT departments in terms of allocating adequate budget and supporting with good resources might lead to the IT department being ineffective to support the strategic initiatives of the organization and this could lead to much challenges to organization, hence the organization should support with good budgets and strengthen its IT arms by involving in strategic decisions, to support in accomplishing the corporate objectives. (Mousavi & M. Habiby BadrAbady, 2008)